More Trade, Rather than Less, Needed to Boost Economies of Poorest Countries,

Says Secretary-General at Opening of UN Conference on Trade and Development

He Cites Global Challenges as Presidents of Brazil, Ghana

Underscore Importance of Achieving Fairer Multilateral Trading System

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

ACCRA, GHANA, 20 April -- Given soaring food prices, climate change and the lag in achieving development goals, more free trade, not less, was needed in order to boost the economies of the poorest countries, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in Accra, Ghana, during the opening of the twelfth Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII).

Making one of three inaugural statements for the Meeting -- the others were delivered by President Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana -- Mr. Ban said: “Remember, the forces that spread prosperity so widely in recent decades are the same forces that will carry us into the future -— trade and economic development.”

The first job of any Government was to feed its own people, he continued, stressing the importance of resisting the impulse towards protectionism.  “International grain markets must remain open and functioning normally.  Beggar-thy-neighbour food wars cannot, in the long run, help anyone.”

He said that in order to make global trade serve development -- particularly the needs of the “bottom billion” -- equitable trade regimes must be negotiated in the Doha Round of trade talks, the wealthiest countries needed to rethink their agricultural subsidies and resource-rich countries needed assistance to gain more from the export of their raw material.

Among other changes, there was a need for fresh thinking and fresh approaches towards integrating the poorest countries into world prosperity, the Secretary-General said, adding that, for that reason, it was fitting that delegates had gathered in Accra.  “Nowhere is the global challenge of economic disenfranchisement more acute than in Africa.”  To deal with the food crisis in the long term, agricultural production must be increased.  There was no reason why Africa could not experience a “green revolution” if assistance and markets were shaped towards that end.

In his remarks, President Lula da Silva said that UNCTAD XI, which took place in Sao Paulo in 2004, had not only strengthened the role of the Conference as the main United Nations body dealing with trade and economic issues from a development perspective, it had also introduced the innovative concept of “space for national policies”, an expression that captured the essence of the challenge resulting from the interaction between domestic policies and international commitments.  While development was the responsibility of every sovereign nation, UNCTAD must carry out that responsibility in an international environment that was conducive to the effort to overcome poverty and underdevelopment.

He said that, since taking office as President of Brazil, he had been trying to implement UNCTAD’s ideals.  The very establishment of the Group of 20 (G-20) agricultural countries in the World Trade Organization reflected the changing geography of global trade, and of allowing developing countries to take charge of their own destinies in that respect.  The G-20 sought to eliminate the distortions that affected agricultural trade and reduced access by developing countries to goods in world markets.  The massive subsidies paid by the treasuries of developed countries worked like “a numbing drug that turns its own users into addicts”, while the main victims were the farmers of the poorest nations.  Developed countries must live up to their official development assistance commitments and to devote more resources towards ensuring sustainable development for all.

Highlighting some of his country’s activities in encouraging trade between countries of the developing South, he said that biofuels could diversify exports – especially in African countries – and improve technical capacity, helping to reduce hunger and poverty.  Levels of malnutrition had fallen in Brazil, even as the production and use of ethanol had increased.  UNCTAD should continue to work under its three pillars -- research and development, consensus-building and technical cooperation -- so as to remain an important source of information, analysis and high-quality alternative policies that promoted broad development.  “That was the sprit of Sao Paulo; that, I am sure, will be the spirit of Accra” he said in conclusion.

President Kufuor said the peoples of the world, especially the millions of deprived populations in developing nations, expected definitive, time-bound actions that would impact positively on the quality of their lives.  “This Conference must, therefore, come up with credible proposals to empower UNCTAD to deliver on its very challenging mandate.”  Immediate measures should aim at reversing Africa’s dwindling fortunes in the global trade arena, where the continent’s share of export trade had fallen from 5.5 per cent in 1960 to about 2.1 per cent in 1995.

Recent improvements in raw commodity prices had helped raise that level to 3 per cent since 2006, he said, noting that, at the same time, sub-Saharan Africa had attracted barely 0.8 per cent of global foreign direct investment last year.  “Undoubtedly, Africa remains deeply marginalized in the expanding global trade.”  The era of colonialism had been described as the first wave of globalization, and it was no secret that it had helped build the economies of colonial Powers while seriously compromising Africa’s development.  It had inflicted such deep-seated psychological wounds on the continent that it still defied the best laid plans aimed at healing them.

Therefore, on the threshold of its second wave, globalization must be driven by a high moral imperative to ensure that it did not leave any scars or losers in its wake, he stressed.  It should be beneficial for all and detrimental to none.  In that light, the work of UNCTAD’s twelfth Meeting must be guided by the outcomes of the previous ones, as well as those of landmark agreements reached at the Millennium Summit, the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development and the Doha Round launched seven years ago.  The same political will that had led world leaders to found UNCTAD  in 1964 -- as well as a much clearer vision of today’s rapidly evolving “global village –- were key to meeting current challenges and taking advantage of globalization’s opportunities.

Following the inaugural addresses, the Meeting held its first plenary session, during which it elected Joe Baidoo-Ansah, Minister for Trade and Industry of Ghana, as President of UNCTAD XII, by acclamation, after his name was proposed by Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD.  Subsequent business saw the adoption of the agenda and the election of other officers of the Meeting, which runs through Friday, 25 April.

Mr. Baidoo-Ansah said UNCTAD XII was, in a sense, a race against time,” stressing the critical economic challenges that faced developing countries.  Hopefully, participants would take those challenges to heart and work for consensus to make the Meeting a success.  The event provided a great opportunity to make trade work for inclusive development, with a special focus on African issues and the special needs of the least developed countries.  “We must run the last mile of the race” in agreeing on strong outcome documents and an agenda for UNCTAD to work on for the next four years in the service of trade and development.

In addition, the Meeting elected Petko Draganov ( Bulgaria), President of the Trade and Development Board and Chair of the Preparatory Committee for UNCTAD XII, as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole.

The Meeting then approved the following 33 countries as Vice-Presidents of UNCTAD XII: Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.

It also approved the following members of the Credentials Committee: Angola, China, Chile, Namibia, Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Suriname and the United States.

Also this afternoon, Yusef Hussein Kamal, Finance Minister of Qatar, announced his country’s offer to host UNCTAD XIII in 2012.

UNCTAD XII will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow for a high-level segment on trade and development for Africa’s prosperity.

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For information media • not an official record